Mom’s Favorite Things Bracelet

[rtebalt]

Difficulty: Easy

Age: 6 and up

What you’ll need:
For both bracelets:

One set of bracelet clasps
Coordinating crimping beads (we used a silver tone to go with the silver clasps and crimping beads)
Coordinating bead stringing wire (we used silver), a 10″ piece
Needle-nose pliers, scissors, and a two spring clip to block the ends of the wire while stringing
Bead board, or a clean white towel for laying out beads
For the birthstone bracelet you’ll need these extras:

Wrapped beads in the colors of each child’s birthstone
8 glass cube beads
14 elongated pearl beads
For the charm bracelet you’ll need these extras:

6 large glass beads
12 framing beads to go on either side of the glass beads
6 charms relating to things your mom loves
How to make it:

For the Birthstone Bracelet:

Cut a 10″ piece of stringing wire for the bracelet.
Lay out the beads. (Try experimenting with variations on the layouts of the beads on the towel before stringing them.) Here’s how we did it: we began with five of the elongated pearl beads, followed by a glass cube, one elongated pearl bead, another glass cube, a birthstone wrapped bead, glass cube, pearl bead, glass cube, the next birthstone wrapped bead, and so on. It’s particularly nice when the sizes of the beads gradually get larger towards the center of the bracelet and smaller towards the ends.
Taking the 10″ piece of wire, block one end with the spring clip. Begin stringing the beads onto the other end of the wire, as you have them laid out (make sure that once you get to the middle, you use the exact opposite layout going back the other way for symmetry). When you’ve strung all your beads, block the end with the other spring clip.
To add the closures, string a crimping bead onto one end. Next, string one half of the closure, bend the wire (coming back down the opposite way through the crimping bead), and crimp it tightly with needle-nose pliers. Secure the other half of the closure on the other side using the same method. This should create a snug clasp.
For the Charm Bracelet:

Lay out the six glass beads with space for others in between.
Insert framing beads on both sides of each glass bead. Place charms between each set of glass beads with framers.
Follow Steps 3 and 4 from above to complete the bracelet.
Tips:
It’s better to cut a little too much since you can always reduce the length later (before or after crimping the clasps onto the pieces).
Keep your supplies well organized and use good room lighting to help with creating your jewelry.
There is no right or wrong selection or layout of the beads. It all comes down to personal preference!
Most beading and craft stores carry jewelry making supplies, as do some dollar stores.

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